The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition will honor two former state legislators during its annual fundraiser next Thursday.

In 1999, Sen. Dorothy Rupert, D-Boulder, and Rep. Penfield Tate, D-Denver, sponsored legislation calling for a three-year halt on prison expansion and the creation of a task force to explore effective alternatives to incarceration.

The bill failed but it helped inspire a statewide, grassroots movement for criminal justice reform.

Tate and Rupert will be at the fundraiser to accept the inaugural “Rupert-Tate Game Changer Award.” Tate and Rupert’s vision was “on-point but ahead of their time,” said Christie Donner, CCJRC’s executive director.

The event is scheduled for 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sept. 20 at Mile High Station, 2027 W. Colfax Ave., in Denver. Tickets for the event, which features dinner and silent and live auctions, are $75 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ccjrc.org or by calling 303-825-0122.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.